The present invention relates generally to applicator brushes and method and pertains, more specifically, to applicator brushes and method for applying mascara to eyelashes as well as for applying other liquid and gel-like materials to similar surfaces.
The usual construction of a brush for applying mascara to eyelashes employs tufts of bristles placed in a spiral around a twisted wire support. One such brush is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,622, the substance of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto. The present invention constitutes an improvement over the brush disclosed in the aforesaid patent in that the particular materials used for the filaments which comprise the bristles of the present brushes, as well as the construction of the brushes themselves, accomplish an improved method for the application of mascara and similar liquid and gel-like materials, enabling a smoother, more uniform application of materials in a wider range of viscosities with increased ease.
The present invention attains several objects and advantages, some of which are summarized as follows: Provides brushes and method for applying mascara to eyelashes, the brushes and method having enhanced pick-up of mascara to be applied to the eyelashes and subsequent enhanced release of mascara to the eyelashes; accomplishes a better controlled and more uniform application of mascara, enabling the attainment of greater satisfaction among even the least skilled of users; avoids an unwanted excessive build-up of mascara on the brushes for greater ease of application and for reduction of waste; promotes the use of correct amounts of mascara, placed appropriately on the eyelashes for tastefully aesthetic results, with minimal skill; facilitates the application of mascaras in a wider range of viscosities; enables economical manufacture of brushes in large enough numbers to encourage widespread adoption and use of the brushes and method; provides brushes of uniform high quality capable of exemplary performance over a desirable service life.
The above objects and advantages, as well as further objects and advantages, are attained by the present invention which may be described briefly as providing, in a brush for applying mascara to eyelashes, wherein the brush includes bristles placed in a spiral arrangement having plural turns around a support, the improvement wherein the bristles are constructed of a polyamide fiber having an external surface modified to include a texturized surface configuration having a multiplicity of indents spaced apart from one another along and around the texturized surface configuration for providing enhanced pick-up of mascara to be applied to the eyelashes, and subsequent enhanced release of the mascara to the eyelashes, the bristles have a diameter of about 2.5 to 3.5 mils and the brush has more than 60 and up to about 120 bristles within each turn of the spiral arrangement.
In addition, the present invention provides, in a method for applying mascara to eyelashes with a brush having bristles placed in a spiral arrangement including plural turns around a support, the improvement wherein the mascara is first picked up on bristles constructed of a polyamide fiber having an external surface modified to include a texturized surface configuration having a multiplicity of indents spaced apart from one another along and around the texturized surface configuration, and subsequently releasing the picked-up mascara to the eyelashes, the bristles having a diameter of about 2.5 to 3.5 mils and the brush having more than 60 and up to about 120 bristles within each turn of the spiral arrangement.